How To Secure Your Personal Information on The Internet
Consciously and unconsciously leaving personal data
There are several everyday situations in which we leave personal information that can potentially be misused and misused by third parties. For example, leaving personal data on bulletin boards, leaving printed biographies of job candidates on the table, or throwing them in the trash can are some of the common irregularities that no one usually pays attention to or considers risky. Situations similar to these in the digital world where such data is very easily reproduced, shared, and forwarded multiply the risk of their easy availability and misuse. Therefore, it is necessary to have developed awareness and understand the importance of personal data and the risks of their potential misuse.
Availability and use of personal data in the digital environment and online profiling
The right to protection of personal data and privacy is one of the basic human rights which, with the rapid development of digital technology and the Internet, has been seriously called into question. We live in the 21st century in which information is the most important resource, and our society is rightly called the information society. In this era of “big data”, personal data is treated as a particularly valuable resource that gives supremacy and control to those who possess it.
Every institution, organization, or company, which is legally obliged to establish our identity before delivering the service to us – school, bank, internet provider – collects data about us. Also, sellers of various goods, based on the contract or our permission, have information about, say, our address to which they will deliver the product or our phone number. Using information and communication technologies, each of us, consciously or unconsciously, leaves a handful of personal data on the Internet, which in the 21st century represents “digital oil” and the currency with which we pay for certain services. Thus, personal data ends up mostly in the possession of corporations and advertisers who, through data collection, monitor the behavior of Internet users and personalize searches, advertisements, and media content for each user.
Protect your personal information
Be conscientious about the information you share with websites because you may unknowingly share it with others. Make sure independent websites on the Internet are reputable and do not fall prey to phishing attacks.
If someone sends you an email asking for your personal information, call the requesting entity directly (such as your bank) and ask if they need that information from the email. No reputable company should ask you by email for your personal information, such as login information. Also, do not answer unknown phone calls; always call with the official number.
Lock your devices
If your phone or tablet is stolen, hackers may be able to access your online accounts. This includes your online bank account. Be sure to lock your devices with a PIN or code (ideally a biometric code, such as a fingerprint) and make sure that two-step authentication is enabled on your digital accounts.
This will protect you even if the device is lost or stolen. Modern devices also allow you to delete them completely remotely or if someone guesses the password too many times.
This is especially important if you are doing any type of work on the devices. If someone steals your device, they may receive not only your personal information but also your business information. Locking the device and deleting the stolen device will remove the chances that personal data and photos can be taken from the device, which is a danger whenever someone travels.
Make your social media activities anonymous
It may be important to connect with friends and family. You especially need to make sure they know where you are and how to connect with you. But avoid posting everything about your travels on social media.
Anonymize any activity on social networks and limit all your social media to friends and family members only. When you are in a different culture, you may not always know what can be considered offensive or even illegal.
Software – the guardian of our identity
Many are unaware of so-called password managers. These programs are possible salvation for all people who have a “hill” of accounts on forums, e-mail identities, profiles on social networks. What exactly are password managers? Simply, these programs remember your entries, store passwords, offer you automatic creation of recent, extremely complicated passwords, and can store hints like your Mastercard numbers.
They work on the principle of multiple and sophisticated encryptions of all of your entered data. All you would like to try and do is create a master or super password at the start of use, and that is it. within the future, all you would like to try and do is remember her. Password managers are available in the shape of classic or portable programs (you can carry them with you on a USB drive), or maybe as simple add-ons for Internet browsers. A special advantage is that each program is extremely easy to use. Many are afraid that password managers are insecure about which the information is “always known”, but statistics show the other. So, chuck the papers, storage on the local computer, remembering the “sea” of codes.
Update your privacy settings
If you do not update your defense, cybercriminals will sooner or later find how to beat it. make certain to follow and download the most recent updates to your software package and make an additional effort to test the privacy settings within the applications and browser you utilize.
Always use a secure connection
When you hook up with the web through a public connection, like Wi-Fi in an exceedingly small mall, you’ve got no direct control over its security. If you’re unable to determine a secure connection or make sure that your device is protected, don’t share sensitive information. It’s better to attend until you get home and confirm you’re employing a secure Wi-Fi network.